Some new principals -- especially those hired mid-summer -- might have found the speed of preparations for today's schools opening a tad overwhelming.
To David Burleson, the new leader at North Forsyth High School, the hectic challenges seemed like a respite from a storm.
Burleson, 48, is a former superintendent of schools in Burke County. He left that job after nearly nine years under less-than-ideal circumstances not of his own making. Without giving a reason for doing so, the Burke County Board of Education voted 4 to 2 on April 20 to terminate Burleson's contract a year early.
Chaos predictably ensued. Burleson filed a lawsuit. Thousands of students and parents signed petitions backing Burleson, turned out for very public displays of support and vowed to change the school board at the ballot box. Even as it was voting to settle with Burleson in late June, the school board still refused to cite a reason for its action.
Despite all that, Burleson managed to land softly when he was hired in July to be the principal at North.
"As a superintendent, so often you're dealing with everything else that comes up -- politics, employees' concerns and the like, and you get away from what's going on in the classroom," Burleson said diplomatically.
Making an impression
If early reviews are an indication, Burke County's contentious loss will be North Forsyth's gain.
The school's main office was abuzz with activity yesterday, much of it centered on the new guy who just couldn't seem to sit still. A parent stopped in and asked Burleson for contact information.
"I don't have a card yet. They're still being printed," Burleson said. "If I write it on a piece of stationery, will that do?"
In all likelihood, about 1,200 students will file onto campus this morning and Burleson, hired to replace Ron Jessup who retired, intends to be very visible -- the sort of commitment that parents and school supporters notice.
"They hired him on a Thursday and he was here the next day," said Ken Winfrey, the president of North's athletic booster club. "He called me that Friday, his actual first day, and gave me his personal cell-phone number."
Winfrey said that he's noticed a marked uptick among just about everyone who's come in contact with Burleson. Kids are greeting him by name already, and they're enthused by seeing their new leader so energized.
That attitude is helping to salve the last few lingering wounds left by the opening of Reagan High School four years ago, which ate into North's enrollment.
"It seemed like North had been written off, but we're feeling like we'll be back with him in charge," Winfrey said.
Done with politics
As the new principal, Burleson learned pretty quickly that some hard feelings about Reagan still lingered and moved to deal with them head-on.
"That's going to happen any time you open a new school and move students," Burleson said. "The best way to describe is that it's like going through a divorce. There has to be a healing period that must take place, and I think we're getting toward the end of that."
After his recent experience in Burke County, Burleson knows something about healing and moving forward.
Obviously he takes some satisfaction in a decision made by Judge Richard Doughton of Burke County Superior Court, which said that the school board had trampled on Burleson's right of due process and basically told its members they would lose the lawsuit over the termination of Burleson's contract.
But Burleson is not gloating or dwelling on the fact that it helped open a door to a contract buyout -- his attorneys voluntarily dropped that suit in July -- and a new opportunity for him at North Forsyth.
"I'm finished with the politics for a while," Burleson said. "I'm very pleased with where we've landed. You'd really rather be dealing with what matters the most, and that's working for the students in the classroom."
■ Scott Sexton can be reached at 727-7481 or at ssexton@wsjournal.com.
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